Miami DUI lawyer John Musca has learned that law enforcement officials in St. Petersburg, Florida have charged a woman following a late-night alleged drunk driving spree. Witnesses reported that a vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road, failing to stop for red lights, and otherwise engaging in erratic, dangerous maneuvers.
By the time police were able to track down the wayward truck, it had plowed into two different parked cars. The truck came to a stop after crashing into a house. Police pulled the driver, Billie Jean Vercellona, 28, from the truck. They also found her infant son, who is only five months old, in the backseat of the truck. Both were examined at a nearby hospital.
Vercellona has been charged with DUI causing property damage and child abuse or neglect. She was also charged with three counts of battery on a health care provider, apparently arising out of her alleged actions after she was transported to the hospital. She is being held in jail and her bond has been set at $8,500.
DUI with property damage (Florida Statute 316.193) is a first degree misdemeanor in Florida, which is punishable by up to a year in jail for the first offense. Child abuse (Florida Statute 827.03) is generally characterized by an intentional act to cause emotional or physical injury to a child; child neglect, however, and can include intentionally or negligently engaging in conduct that could reasonably be expected to kill or seriously harm a child. If the child in such a scenario is not actually seriously injured, the person who placed the child in harm's way can still be convicted of a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Miami drunk driving lawyer John Musca notes that child abuse or child neglect charges do not always accompany DUI when there is a child in the vehicle, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. The sentence for a DUI can also be enhanced when young children are present in the vehicle.
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